The buzz, stress and eventual fatigue of a new project and preparing to shoot...

[stormystudio]

Just thought I'd share my thoughts... partly because it's good to share, but mainly because my mind is pretty much broken and whether I'm awake or a sleep, I find myself researching LED lights on a budget, ND filter thread sizes, stabilisers, postage costs, import duty, recheck eBay, gumtree, Bmcuser, amazon, second hand section of LCE, CVP, Wex... rinse repeat..

My small studio (just past the 2.5 year old mark) which is predominantly an business animation studio in the UK landed a new creative film project and it's been a bit of a whirlwind getting prepared.

I absolutely adore the prospect of filming and producing the ideas in my head and coming out with something that we'll all be proud of (and that our client will hopefully love.).

The excitement of having a medium budget to spend on props, location, cast, crew and some bits of new kit is a great position to be in. I'm doing my best to ensure there's some profit and a few scraps for the taxman but ultimately I want to ensure the work is as good as can be, plus make use of the chance to upgrade some of our film kit.

However 9 days on from getting the job confirmed, preparation is definitely taking its toll.

THE BAD:

Sleep: Lay awake, running over a thousand production jobs and questions..Finally fall asleep and then soon wake up, tell myself to stop trying to light an imaginary room. Then try and force myself to dream about something else.. i.e. surfing, only to seconds later find myself trying to adjust a Variable ND to improve the shot of the imaginary surfer... aaah..


The GREAT:
- New kit: Zhyun Crane stabiliser, Small HD Focus monitor, possibly a new camera (all going well), vintage props, hiring set of 3 Dedo lights and Aputure 300D with various adaptors.
- Working with a good crew: Cameraman (drone pilot) from BBC's Topgear, Stills Sports Photographer and lighting expert from London who's just moved to my village in Devon, 2 production assistants, my wife as the producer, local drama school teacher rallying the troops, and a few favours called in to sort out some budget catering.
- Best thing ever - I've just spent some of the budget getting 60 Stormy Studio branded t-shirts with Film crew written on the back, to give to all the kids as a thank you. (*Along with many bags of sweets).


The Stressful:
Directing 60 kids to act on queue, 3 adult actors. Get it all shot and in the (digital) can within a 2 hour window.

So far we're in budget, (give or take...)

Right I really need to get some attempted sleep, ready for some final storyboarding sessions tomorrow.

*Just to be clear, I'm not moaning... I love the project build up and potential of the images yet to be captured...


How do you find the build up to shooting?.....

[Howie Roll]

First piece of advice, concentrate on the work at hand and stop distracting yourself with forums ��. If you've done your homework sleep well knowing you've prepared as thoroughly as possible. It helps to stare at the back of your eyelids and focus on that image if you really need the sleep. I find that I have the most breakthrough moments in the transition from sleep to waking and there is always some gold in those few brief glimpses that help me solve nagging problems, production or otherwise.

Beyond that try not to give a shit, as in not have an emotional attachment. Every year I have to make about 200,000 button presses, my margin for error is about .01%, that's still a bunch of clams. It used to wreck me, my face would get hot and flushed and I'd beat myself up over it and fail to concentrate on what was next. Everyone wants to do a great job and nail it, becoming too emotionally invested can cloud your judgement. Relaxed, cool, calm, like Fonzie, that's the way you do it..

[stormystudio]

Thanks for the reply. Getting off the forum is probably a good idea now, as we near film day.

I keep meaning to read the book 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' as I've heard lots of people rave about it... sounds like a winner.

[Howie Roll]

Funny, 3 days ago I got stuck at LAX for 10 hours after a gig cancelled in the 11th hour. I saw that book at Hudson and thought "Now there's a good title".

Good Luck

[ric8138]

So, how'd it go? Last fall I shot my first full length feature film. Why is that mean anything to you? Well although I have been producing training videos and commercials for years, I had never done a narrative. Never done a short. Went out and raised $28K and did a 2 week shoot with a crew of 15-20 people. I was up a few nights over that one, so I know how you feel.